Biodiversity, the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur, is essential to the health and success of an ecosystem; the greater the diversity of the organisms, the greater the health of the area in which they are found. One creative way to evaluate biodiversity is through a BioBlitz, or a 24-hour rapid assessment of what lives in a particular area at a given time.  

These events are an extremely useful tool in:

-   generating a species list, a first step in successful resource management

-   increasing the public’s awareness of the variety of life in their immediate neighborhood and the services these various species provide to improve the equality of their lives

-   creating an environment that will foster the scientist in both adults and kids alike

2007 All Taxa BioBlitz-
September 7th & 8th, 2007

NPS Photo

With the help of an expert, participants at the first Jamaica Bay BioBlitz examine a catch to determine the specimen's genus and species in order to be added to the tally.

The first-ever Jamaica Bay BioBlitz, organized as a partnership between the Jamaica Bay Institute and Queens College (CUNY), succeeded in highlighting the natural resources of Jamaica Bay by bringing together over 270 community volunteers and scientific experts to create a snapshot of the biodiversity found in and around the bay. Throughout the event, field teams departed from the base-camp at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge to explore the less studied areas of the park such as Fort Tilden and Floyd Bennett Field in order to identify as many organisms as possible and expand the already extensive list of species known to exist in the park. Educational activities such as ranger-led walks, interactive displays, creative workshops, and research laboratory stations allowed participants to get an up-close look at some of the 650 species that were documented during the event which provided an opportunity for the public to contribute to a scientific inventory while learning about the natural history of species found in the area. 

For a complete list of species please click here